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Join us at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery this Saturday, January 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM for the book launch party of Jim Woodring’s Problematic. An exhibition of imagery not included in the book will be displayed, as well as the artist’s original sketchbooks, including examples of Woodring’s inventive pop-up drawing constructions. Get a rare glimpse inside the creative process of this iconoclastic master of modern cartooning. The artist will be available to sign copies of his exquisite new book. This event coincides with the colorful Georgetown Art Attack, featuring festive art events and exhibitions throughout the neighborhood. Fantagraphics Bookstore is…

• Review: Publishers Weekly gives a starred review to 7 Miles a Second by David Wojnarowicz, James Romberger and Marguerite Van Cook. "The author’s prose is poetic, arriving with a light touch while delivering a heavy, dark, and understandably angry message. Part of what makes the book unusual is that it does not go out of its way to be uplifting… Romberger and Van Cook’s art is hyperactive, with splattery color that suggests the out-of-body acid-trip world of contradictory values and constantly shifting danger that Wojnarowicz lived in." • Preview: Publishers Weekly also posted a preview of the comic 7 Miles a…

From Cathy Malkasian, the first in a series of animated "commercials" for Wake Up, Percy Gloom, the upcoming sequel to her acclaimed debut graphic novel Percy Gloom, coming this Spring. If you weren't already conscious of the book… now you are!

No, no, not the Olympics but something just as awesome. Mome Vet Eleanor Davis recently recieved a GOLD Medal from the Society of Illustrators. The Society of Illustrators site gives more informatoin on the art show and medals. "The first of the two-part annual exhibition Illustrators 55 will be held at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators January 4 to January 26, 2013. The exhibit features works by leading contemporary illustrators worldwide, juried by a prestigious jury of professionals.  Sequential/Series work includes multi-image projects for which a sequence of images is necessary to fully convey an…

FINALLY! Jim Woodring and his throbbing universe lead character Frank into the digital realm at comiXology. Weathercraft is Woodring's first full-length graphic novel set in the world of his most beloved character, Frank — indeed, Woodring's first graphic novel, period! — and it features the same hypnotically-gorgeous linework and mystical iconography. As it happens, Frank has only a brief supporting appearance in Weathercraft, which actually stars Manhog, Woodring's pathetic, brutish everyman (or everyhog). What happens when we are stretched to our limit? Will we come out the other end a changed person (or hog)? A 2010 Finalist for the Los…

This week's comic shop shipment is slated to include the following new titles. Read on to see what comics-blog commentators and web-savvy comic shops are saying about them (more to be added as they appear), check out our previews at the links, and contact your local shop to confirm availability. (Note that this includes some books that haven't been officially announced as shipping yet — unless we missed it — but we're pretty confident they've shipped over the last couple of weeks and we got tired of waiting to post the blurbs.)  Delphine by Richard Sala 128-page two-color (with some full color)…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department:  Jack Jackson's American History: Los Tejanos & Lost Cause by Jack Jackson 320-page black & white 7.5" x 10.25" hardcover • $35.00ISBN: 978-1-60699-504-4 See Previews / Order Now Jack Jackson loved American history and creating comics. He combined these into a single vocation and created a legacy of historical graphic novels that has never been equaled. Jackson is credited with creating what many consider the first underground comic, God Nose, in 1964. He co-founded Rip-Off Press in 1969, and made some of the most scathing satirical comics about contemporary America ever…

Just arrived and shipping now from our mail-order department:  Beta Testing the Apocalypse by Tom Kaczynski 136-page two-color 6.5" x 9.25" softcover • $19.99ISBN: 978-1-60699-541-9 See Previews / Order Now It would be easy to call Tom Kaczynski the J.G. Ballard of comics. Like Ballard, Kaczynski’s comics riff on dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments. Yet while Kaczynski shares many of Ballard’s obsessions, he processes them in unique ways. His visual storytelling adds an architectural dimension that the written word alone lacks. Kaczynski takes abstract ideas — capitalism, communism, or utopianism…

This month's Diamond Previews catalog is out now and in it you'll find our usual 2-page spread (download the PDF) with our releases scheduled to arrive in your local comic shop in March 2013 (give or take — release dates are likely to have changed since the issue went to press). We're pleased to offer additional and updated information about these upcoming releases here on our website, to help shops and customers alike make more informed ordering decisions. We have two Spotlight items this month: The Secret History of Marvel Comics by Blake Bell & Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, revealing…

Wednesday, January 9th • Los Angeles, CA: As we've mentioned previously on FLOG, when the great Ron Regé, Jr. isn't making awesome comics, he can be found making music, and this Wednesday, he'll be making a rare, special appearance at the Hyperion Tavern as "The Discombobulated Ventriloquist," performing songs on his new Casiotone mt400v! Do not miss this! (more info)   Thursday, January 10th • Seattle, WA: Our extraordinary Love and Rockets 30th Anniversary exhibit comes to an end at the Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, so make a visit to see it in person while you can, or check out our…